Stuck at 220

[m0fugga]

So I've recently been doing something the equivalent of a keto diet which has resulted in the lose of about 25 pounds over the last couple of months. But lately my weight hasn't budged. I work out at least 6 times a week. I was pre-diabetic but the keto seems to have taken care of that. At least, my blood sugar is down to a normal levels and the rest of my blood work checks out. So now I need to work on a different diet plan. I also noticed that energy levels at the gym seem low and I had assumed it was due to the fact that I was consuming little in the way carbs. My TDEE is a whooping 3892 calories and I feel like I'd be eating all day to achieve that kind of intake. Up to this point, I'm probably only eating 50 to 66 percent that much (which could also be a problem). My goals are simple, I want to get down to a more healthy weight, period. Here are some stats:

Age: 45
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 220
Training experience: xfit 2-3 times a week, 12-13 miles (outdoor) cycling 3-4 times a week.
TDEE: 3892
Diet breakdown with Macros: I'm not sure on this one but a guess would be 60% protein, 25% fat, 15% carbs?

Thanks in advance for any help you all can provide, I'm very grateful!

[RaginCajun]

welcome!

what is your BF percentage?

when doing that keto style diet as you call it, have you ever had a refeed? (big carb day?)

[Mr. Small]

TDEE should be around 3300 cals

2500 cals a day should see you lose 1.5 lbs a week

[PrettyPlease?]

So I've recently been doing something the equivalent of a keto diet which has resulted in the lose of about 25 pounds over the last couple of months. But lately my weight hasn't budged. I work out at least 6 times a week. I was pre-diabetic but the keto seems to have taken care of that. At least, my blood sugar is down to a normal levels and the rest of my blood work checks out. So now I need to work on a different diet plan. I also noticed that energy levels at the gym seem low and I had assumed it was due to the fact that I was consuming little in the way carbs. My TDEE is a whooping 3892 calories and I feel like I'd be eating all day to achieve that kind of intake. Up to this point, I'm probably only eating 50 to 66 percent that much (which could also be a problem). My goals are simple, I want to get down to a more healthy weight, period. Here are some stats:

Age: 45
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 220
Training experience: xfit 2-3 times a week, 12-13 miles (outdoor) cycling 3-4 times a week.
TDEE: 3892
Diet breakdown with Macros: I'm not sure on this one but a guess would be 60% protein, 25% fat, 15% carbs?

Thanks in advance for any help you all can provide, I'm very grateful!

TDEE should be around 3300 cals

2500 cals a day should see you lose 1.5 lbs a week

What formula are you guys using to figure TDEE? Those are both higher than what I am getting.

Also not a fan of Keto. I suspect you will have some rebound when you get back to more normal eating habits.

As RajunCajun asked what is your body fat percentage?

[Mr. Small]

220 lbs x 15 = 3300 cals

[PrettyPlease?]

220 lbs x 15 = 3300 cals

ahhh the quick and dirty method lol.

There are much better ways that take factors like age, weight, height, body fat percentage and activity level into account. Most registered dieticians I know use the Mifflin St Jeor equation; however, I prefer the Katch Mcardle Formula.

Both those formulas give lower TDEEs.

[Mr. Small]

ahhh the quick and dirty method lol.

There are much better ways that take factors like age, weight, height, body fat percentage and activity level into account. Most registered dieticians I know use the Mifflin St Jeor equation; however, I prefer the Katch Mcardle Formula.

Both those formulas give lower TDEEs.

So what you reckon is the OP's TDEE?

[PrettyPlease?]

Without knowing body fat at the very most I would say 3165 but more conservatively I would put his TDEE at 2900 calories per day.

Regardless OP is most likely in a deficit if he is eating 50 to 66% of his proposed 3900 calorie TDEE. However, even if he is only eating 50% of that and 60% of that is from protein that is 350g of protein a day. The diet needs some serious tweaks.

OP how are you tracking your intake? If you are just guessing than I advise tracking your intake for the next several days and posting the results here. I bet your problem will become obvious if you do.

[m0fugga]

when doing that keto style diet as you call it, have you ever had a refeed? (big carb day?)

I have not. I'm not aware of the concept and fwiw I don't need to be on keto, I just was for the sake of lower BS and shedding pounds since I had done it before with moderate success.

What formula are you guys using to figure TDEE? Those are both higher than what I am getting.

Also not a fan of Keto. I suspect you will have some rebound when you get back to more normal eating habits.

As RajunCajun asked what is your body fat percentage?

I thought I was using this:

URL removed but it was the TDEE thread created by Admin

But I may have done my math wrong. I used a spreadsheet and it looked like this:

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)
66 1370 863.6 211.5 = 2511 X 1.55 = 3892.205

OP how are you tracking your intake? If you are just guessing than I advise tracking your intake for the next several days and posting the results here. I bet your problem will become obvious if you do.

Your're right, I'm not tracking it currently but I will and I'll update. I think that's the part I need the most help with figuring out what macro nutrients and in what ratios. I'm not sure what my body fat is, but if you go by BMI it's at around 33%.

Thank you everyone for your responses, you're all very helpful and I really appreciate it!

[ab037]

Just my 2 cents, as I am doing a Keto cut currently as well.. From what you described macro wise that is not keto.. Keto is high fat, moderate protein, low carb. 60f/35p/5c would be an example Keto macro split.
Also, what I noticed was after running a large calorie deficit for many weeks, I was fatigued/ low energy, etc. So incorporated a carb refeed, for me that was around 400g of carbs, and ate at maintenance calorie level or above just for that day, then return to keto. The refeed gives a boost to your Leptin levels, and T3 function, basically should rev your metabolism back up. Again our bodies adapt, so if you have been running a large deficit for a long time then it (metabolism) has probably slowed down.

There's a good read in these forums on the CKD, you should check it out.. cyclic ketogenic diet
also as the others have said, HAVE to track calories.. no other way for you to know what is going on.. plenty of free phone apps that will take care of that..

[m0fugga]

Just my 2 cents, as I am doing a Keto cut currently as well.. From what you described macro wise that is not keto.. Keto is high fat, moderate protein, low carb. 60f/35p/5c would be an example Keto macro split.
Also, what I noticed was after running a large calorie deficit for many weeks, I was fatigued/ low energy, etc. So incorporated a carb refeed, for me that was around 400g of carbs, and ate at maintenance calorie level or above just for that day, then return to keto. The refeed gives a boost to your Leptin levels, and T3 function, basically should rev your metabolism back up. Again our bodies adapt, so if you have been running a large deficit for a long time then it (metabolism) has probably slowed down.

There's a good read in these forums on the CKD, you should check it out.. cyclic ketogenic diet
also as the others have said, HAVE to track calories.. no other way for you to know what is going on.. plenty of free phone apps that will take care of that..

Yeah I was using the keto term a little too liberally, I know. I'm tracking todays intake and will post tomorrow. I'm not really following a diet at the moment so what you'll see will probably be all over the place. Plus when it comes to carbs, I decided not to worry about it (actually had a sandwich! With bread!!). I'll have a look at CKD and educate myself, thanks for that! I think you're right though, I've adapted and hit a wall. I suppose if I want to keep doing something low carb I should 1) refeed like you mentioned and 2) learn to do CKD right. But everything is still on the table, as long as I consistently drop the fat while hopefully holding on to any gains along the way, that's all I care about! Thank you for the information!

[tarmyg]

If you are Diabetic (Type 2) staying in Keto will be highly preferred as that will keep that part at bay, at least it does to 90%+ of people. If you hit a wall, and it seems like you have, starting to track calories is a good thing. If you are truly in Keto you will NOT feel lethargic and will NOT need a refeed. What would make you feel like that is not eating enough, however, and I'll wait with more comments until you post your food for the next day. Will be interesting!

[m0fugga]

If you are Diabetic (Type 2) staying in Keto will be highly preferred as that will keep that part at bay, at least it does to 90%+ of people. If you hit a wall, and it seems like you have, starting to track calories is a good thing. If you are truly in Keto you will NOT feel lethargic and will NOT need a refeed. What would make you feel like that is not eating enough, however, and I'll wait with more comments until you post your food for the next day. Will be interesting!

Ok, here's a run down of yesterday's food. Keep in mind this does not represent the typical day for me over the last 2 months or so.



There would normally be more vegetable matter in that diet, btw. But yesterday was rare.

And I see the column headers got cut off. That's Carbs, Fat, Protein.

[tarmyg]

Crazy amounts of sugar in there, at least IMHO. Happy to know that is not a regular day and considering the Type 2 that day should be a rarity.

Why did you stop the Keto diet and not just start calculating calories, considering it is so effective against type 2 diabetes and for weight loss?

[m0fugga]

Crazy amounts of sugar in there, at least IMHO. Happy to know that is not a regular day and considering the Type 2 that day should be a rarity.

Why did you stop the Keto diet and not just start calculating calories, considering it is so effective against type 2 diabetes and for weight loss?

My bad, I don't have type 2. I might have mentioned at one point I was considered pre-diabetic but my A1C and BS have come back normal over the past 12-18 months. I still need to research the keto diet more to make sure I fully understand it. Up to this point I was doing something I'd call a modified Atkins diet, somewhere past induction. Today's intake should be much lower on sugar. I was looking to intake more carbs because I was wondering if it was contributing to my lack of energy in the gym.

[tarmyg]

If you are in true Keto and eating enough food there is no way you will feel lethargic. Lethargy will come from the calorie deficit itself regardless of what food you cut. More deficit more lethargy obviously.

[PrettyPlease?]

I will wait until I see today's before giving some recommendations. I agree that the sugar is high. Cut out the liquid calories those kill you.

Also I personally recommend sticking with carbohydrates as the majority of your calories. Something like 50% Carbs 30% Protein and 20% Fat or 45/35/20 or even 40/40/20.

Max caloric deficit I recommend is about 75% of TDEE but that is dependent on body fat. A good starting point is 500 calories under TDEE.

[tarmyg]

I will wait until I see today's before giving some recommendations. I agree that the sugar is high. Cut out the liquid calories those kill you.

Also I personally recommend sticking with carbohydrates as the majority of your calories. Something like 50% Carbs 30% Protein and 20% Fat or 45/35/20 or even 40/40/20.

Max caloric deficit I recommend is about 75% of TDEE but that is dependent on body fat. A good starting point is 500 calories under TDEE.

75% below TDEE? Are you serious?

Considering all the crap that comes with a low-fat diet, why are you recommending that?

[PrettyPlease?]

75% below TDEE? Are you serious?

Considering all the crap that comes with a low-fat diet, why are you recommending that?

I am not following. I said MAXIMUM caloric deficit I recommend is 75% OF TDEE, not 75% below TDEE.

Also what about low fat diet? I don't believe I or the OP mentioned a low fat diet?

[tarmyg]

Something like 50% Carbs 30% Protein and 20% Fat

How is that not low fat?

[PrettyPlease?]

How is that not low fat?

Current US Dietary Guidelines recommend the following:

45-65% of calories from Carbohydrates
10-35% from Protein
20-35% from Fat or the remainder of the calories.


Maybe we are playing semantics but I don't consider anything that meets the recommended guidelines to be low just as I would not consider anything high unless it exceeded the current recommendations.

My split meets the current guidelines and is still successful without making people feel like crap.

[tarmyg]

Referencing the US guidelines. Clearly you have solid backing here with 10% protein and all. Good luck.

[PrettyPlease?]

Referencing the US guidelines. Clearly you have solid backing here with 10% protein and all. Good luck.

I forgot you have to eat 500g of protein a day to build muscle.

Bottom line is if the percent calories consumed from fat goes up than something else is going to have come down. Maybe by your keto advocating standards 20% of calories from fat is low but that is about it.

[davidtheman100]

bf pct?

[m0fugga]

Sorry guys my computer took a big steamy dump and I just got it working again. I've been reading on CKD and think I'd like to try that approach for now. I'm going to read more to figure out my macros and then post them here. Any advice, as always, is greatly appreciated! And I'll be back in a little bit with some intake. I'd like some info if anyone's got on whether or not I should start the diet with the carb heavy days or the carb light days, or perhaps it doesn't matter. Thank you all again!

[RaginCajun]

Use the search function, there is a great thread on it. On my phone now but will try and find it later on

[RaginCajun]

I found the thread, just bumped it for ya

[m0fugga]

I found the thread, just bumped it for ya

Cool, thanks! I read that and have a couple of questions. One is, does it matter where in the cycle I start (depletion/refeed)? Another is, what should my macros be on this (both during depletion and refeed)? Additionally, I'm not sure if when on a CKD it matters how many meals per day apply. Fewer? More? Does it matter? Do pre-workout and post-workout meals still apply? I'm assuming they do, just not sure what they might look like.

[RaginCajun]

Cool, thanks! I read that and have a couple of questions. One is, does it matter where in the cycle I start (depletion/refeed)? Another is, what should my macros be on this (both during depletion and refeed)? Additionally, I'm not sure if when on a CKD it matters how many meals per day apply. Fewer? More? Does it matter? Do pre-workout and post-workout meals still apply? I'm assuming they do, just not sure what they might look like.

did you read the thread?

it gives you all of the information you need

you need to start the depletion on day 1 and go until day 5-5.5, then do a 1-2 day carb up.

[m0fugga]

did you read the thread?

it gives you all of the information you need

you need to start the depletion on day 1 and go until day 5-5.5, then do a 1-2 day carb up.

Yeah, I saw that but what about the macros? I know it says no more than 20-40 grams of carbs during depletion but is there is breakdown between protein and fat?

[RaginCajun]

Yeah, I saw that but what about the macros? I know it says no more than 20-40 grams of carbs during depletion but is there is breakdown between protein and fat?

As said before, did you read it?

You want a 30-35% protein, 60-70% fat, lil to none carbs 0-5%

[m0fugga]

Huh, I'm not sure how I missed that. Alright, thanks Ragin!

[RaginCajun]

no problem bud, we are all here to better ourselves!

[m0fugga]

Ok, so I got my BF% measured using some electronic device and it came out to 26.3% just for the record. Also, while I was reading on CKD I came across TKD and wanted to know anyone's thoughts on that. Would it be easier for a "beginner" to start with? Keep in mind, I'm just trying to shed some pounds while maintaining as much LBM as possible, not training for a competition. Thanks in advance, y'all have been great!

[m0fugga]

Here's yesterday's intake:

[m0fugga]

Tuesday 8/18:

I know my macros are off; still adjusting.

[m0fugga]

Day three:


Day four:

[m0fugga]

The good news is I'm down to 213. Probably mostly water weight I'm guessing, but my keto sticks say I'm keto so this appears to be working and I'm sure at least some of those 7 pounds are fat.

[RaginCajun]

Sounds like progress to me!!!

[BG]

Good job, keep going strong.